NYC Marathon dogged by lousy weather, doping scandal

High gusts of wind make running across the Verrazano Bridge a daunting task. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

As far as New York City Marathons go — and they can go very nicely, really — this one was not exactly a showcase affair. Early on, the winds shortened the wheelchair race by three miles, because organizers correctly feared the chairs would be buffeted about on the Verrazano Bridge. The crowds along the course, even those on First Ave., were far sparser and quieter than usual due to the nasty weather. The men ran a tactical race, slower than any New York Marathon since 1995. The women's race had not required so long to finish in a dozen years.

"It was like running to survive in that race," said Desiree Linden, the top American woman, who finished fifth. "You felt like you were being blown backward."

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Tatyana McFadden, the women's wheelchair winner, flipped over on a tight turn not far from the finish, hit a bike, scrambled back aboard her chair. "It was quite embarrassing," she said. Everyone just tried to survive this day — this harsh November test, with gusts howling at 45 mph and temperatures in the low 40s. Most everybody endured in one fashion or another, hanging in a pack for dear life heading over the Verrazano and beyond.

All these physical miseries might have been overlooked — and buoyant Caroline Wozniacki might have rescued the day — if only this race hadn't been run in the shadow of drug charges against the top woman Kenyan runner in the world, Rita Jeptoo. That cloud is now hanging over that country's entire stable of marathoners, and then there at the finish line Sunday in Central Park, as we knew would happen, the first women across were two Kenyans, Mary Keitany and Jemima Sumgong; the first man was another Kenyan, Wilson Kipsang,

If ever there were a year for somebody, anyone, to break the Kenyan dynasty, this was the marathon when it should have happened for the good of the sport. But Sara Moreira of Portugal could fare no better than third and Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia finished four seconds behind Kipsang, after Benti stopped for a bathroom break along the course and Kipsang's final kick was too much.

So we're left with two more Kenyan champions and that gnawing feeling in the stomach — the same one we get when we watch the Tour de France and think that maybe the winner will not be the winner for long, after all the tests come back. This may not be fair at all, yet it has become a common perception now among both insiders and outsiders in this relatively small world. Jeptoo's own coach, Claudio Berardelli of Italy, wondered and worried about that very thing this past week, after his runner's A sample tested positive for an undisclosed, illegal substance.

"This will affect the entire credibility of the Kenyans," Berardelli said on Friday. "It will definitely destroy the system, even for those who are clean."

Fewer crowds hit the streets to cheer on runners due to the lousy weather. (Marcus Santos /New York Daily New)

Until that B sample comes back positive, there is no proof yet that Jeptoo is a cheater. There is certainly no evidence whatsoever that Kipsang or Keitany have taken shortcuts. They necessarily fall under suspicion, however, because so many Kenyan runners have failed tests of late.

On Sunday, the World Marathon Majors Series was supposed to hand out its runners of the year awards, along with a $500,000 prize for the top man and woman. That ceremony was postponed, until the Jeptoo case is decided and the Majors Series can figure out what to do next. If Jeptoo is bumped, Keitany would receive the money and the honor.

Kipsang, meanwhile, clinched that $500,000 prize for the men. It's always one Kenyan or another, met by the raised eyebrows of cynical observers. The last time the Kenyans didn't sweep this race, it required Hurricane Sandy to stop them.

A field of 50,000 and those brutal gusts on Sunday simply weren't enough.